This objective will help you determine how to translate the goals of the business
into a technical design. You will learn how to assess the existing network infrastructure
from a technical point of view and compare it to the proposed goals to determine
which Windows 2000 features will need to be included in your design.

Analyze the impact of infrastructure design on the existing and planned
technical environment.

Assess current applications.

Analyze network infrastructure, protocols, and hosts.

Evaluate network services.

Analyze TCP/IP infrastructure.

Assess current hardware.

Identify existing and planned upgrades and rollouts.

Analyze technical support structure.

Analyze existing and planned network and systems
management.

This objective addresses the considerations that must be made to determine
the impact of a new network infrastructure design on the existing network infrastructure.
Windows 2000 was designed to be deployed gradually. To successfully deploy,
you must fully understand the areas where changes to the existing infrastructure
will be the most disruptive and plan accordingly. You must also be able to identify
the areas of the existing network infrastructure requiring improvement or change.

Analyze the network requirements for client computer
access.

Analyze end-user work needs.

Analyze end-user usage patterns.

The primary function of any network infrastructure is to support the needs
of the end users. This objective will help you learn to identify the needs of
the end-user community and focus your network infrastructure design on meeting
those needs.

Analyze the existing disaster recovery strategy for client computers,
servers, and the network.

This objective helps you examine the disaster recovery strategies that exist
to support the current network infrastructure. You will need to consider these
strategies and determine whether they are sufficient for the existing infrastructure
as well as for the new network infrastructure design.

Outline

Introduction

Evaluating Technical Environment and Goals

Analyze Company Size and User and Resource Distribution

Assessing Available Connectivity

Assessing Bandwidth and Latency

Performance, Scalability, and Availability

Data and System Access

Network Roles and Responsibilities

Security Considerations

Physical Security

Internal Access Security

External Access Security

Analyzing the Impact of Infrastructure Design

Applications

Network Infrastructure, Protocols, and Hosts

Network Services

TCP/IP Infrastructure

The IP Addressing Scheme

The IP Address Assignment Process

The Host Name Registration Process

The Host Name Resolution Process

Hardware

Upgrades and Rollouts

Technical Support Structure

Network and Systems Management

Analyzing Client Computer Access Requirements

End-User Work Needs

End-User Usage Patterns

Analyzing Disaster Recovery Strategies

Tape Backup Strategies

Hardware Failure Recovery Strategies

Power and Other Environmental Failure Recovery Strategies

Data Line and Cable Failure Recovery Strategies

System Code Failure Recovery Strategies

Ultimate Recovery from Acts of God

Chapter Summary

Apply Your Knowledge

Study Strategies

The material in this chapter is not necessarily Microsoft-specific. The
approach to network analysis that you take in this chapter will serve you well
on any network project. Remember as you learn these techniques that many of them
can be transferred to other non-Microsoft projects.

Much of the material in this chapter dealing with basic networking was
previously covered on the MCSE 4.0 exam Networking Essentials. Because Microsoft
has eliminated this exam requirement in the MCSE 2000 track, I recommend
reviewing Network+ Certification Guide (New Riders Publishing, ISBN
073570077X) and Network+ Fast Track (New Riders Publishing, ISBN
0735709041).

Pay particular attention to the Case Study that we develop in this chapter.
Case studies are an excellent way to learn and begin to understand network
design concepts.

As you read the material presented in this chapter, try to associate it with
events in your own experience. Think about network projects that you have been
involved with, and try to determine if any of the steps described in this
chapter were performed for those projects. What was the outcome as a result of
design planning strategies?